CAMDEN —The Preble Shawnee Arrows got back to .500 after defeating Northridge on Thursday, Jan. 28, before falling back under the mark with a 31-24 loss to Monroe on Saturday, Jan. 30.
The week also started with a win, when the team traveled to National Trail on Monday, Jan. 25.
The Arrows used a balanced offensive attack and a dominating performance on the boards as the team grabbed at least 20 offensive rebounds in the contest.
Nine of those were from junior forward Elise Walker, who recorded 14 total rebounds and nine points in the contest.
In total, eight Arrows scored in the contest, with Shelbie Brown leading the way with 10 points as the only Arrow to score in double figures.
Ashton Collins scored eight points, Chloe Smith scored nine, and Riane Woodard scored eight points.
The Arrows led from the opening tip to the final whistle, jumping out to a 16-9 lead after the first quarter. The game slowed down in the second quarter and the Arrows took a 25-14 lead into halftime.
National Trail was able to double its total points in the third quarter as the Arrows continued to crash the boards and score 17 of their own.
It was 42-28 heading into the fourth and final frame. The Arrows played well in the fourth quarter and kept the Blazers at bay for a 54-37 final.
On Thursday, Jan. 28, the Blazers finally got back to .500 on the season after starting the season with a 1-5 record. The win came at Northridge, as the Arrows defeated the Polar Bears 57-31.
Once again the Arrows used a balance offensive attack, as the team assisted on 17 of the 20 made baskets in the game, shooting 42 percent in the contest as a team.
Woodard recorded eight assists in the game. She also grabbed six rebounds and scored eight points.
Seven Arrows scored five or more points. Elise Walker led the way with 11 points, Malorie Plaugher scored 10, Smith scored nine, Nicole Sims scored eight, Brenna Woodard scored six and Brown scored five.
The Arrows jumped out to an early 18-7 lead, and never looked back. They took a 24-14 lead into halftime.
The Arrows put the game away in the third period, extending the lead to 40-22 by the end of the quarter.
Preble Shawnee dominated the fourth quarter and finished the game on a 33-17 run, for a 57-31 final.
The .500 record didn’t last long for the Arrows, as a cold shooting game cost Shawnee in a 24-31 defeat by Monroe.
The Arrows shot just 9-44 on the game for 20 percent and turned the ball over 20 times in the low-scoring affair.
The Arrow defense stepped up to the plate in helping the struggling offense, but the slow night offensively was ultimately too much to overcome for Preble Shawnee.
Shawnee led after the first quarter despite only scoring seven points as the Arrow defense held the Hornets to just four points.
Monroe recovered in the second quarter to score 10 points and the Arrow offense went cold, only mustering four points in the quarter. At halftime, Monroe led 14-11.
Preble Shawnee continued to play strong defense into the second half and Monroe was held to single digits in the quarter.
The Arrows were unable to score in double figures in any quarter, however, and only trimmed the lead to 20-18.
Monroe was able to seal the game late by making free throws, ending Preble Shawnee’s hopes of getting over .500 for the season.
Monroe shot 11-14 at the free throw line.
Preble Shawnee is now 9-10 on the season and will have a challenging road ahead for a plus-.500 record with games at Cincinnati Christian on Monday, Feb.1, home versus Ponitz on Thursday, Feb. 4, and at Middletown Madison on Saturday, Feb. 6, for the final regular season game.
